For the last several weeks, ever since I had signed up for Dismal Swamp, I had a Plan B in the event that I didn't get a sufficient BQ: to run the Houston Marathon in mid-January.
As is typical for me, I didn't sign up for a near-term next marathon in the couple of days following a race. When I finally got back to the website for Houston yesterday to try to register, lo and behold, it was SOLD OUT! *sigh* Well, good thing my hotel reservations are always refundable (I canceled it last night), and I never buy the plane ticket until after race registration comes through - so no worry there.
So, what to do? I looked at lots of different options. The contenders:
Baton Rouge, LA and Mobile, AL on the same weekend in January as Houston
Mississippi River (AR); Dublin, OH; Mesa, AZ; Melbourne, FL; Dalmatian RunFest (Fort Worth, TX); and El Paso, TX in February
Myrtle Beach, SC and Irving, TX in March
The rationale for most of these as opposed to a few others that popped in my search? Relatively flat courses.
What won out? The familiar and net-downhill Mesa, AZ. I've run it the past two years - my first time I got my only sub-3. And even when I failed to get that the second time around (this Feb), I got a BQ that was good enough to use for Boston 2024 (and would be good enough for 2025, were I to get that time).
So, while I won't be pursuing a sub-3 (unless training over the next 8 weeks go fantastically), I'll be shooting for both a BQ and a NY qualifying time to be used for 2025. I need to make sure that most of my treadmill work is with an incline of 3% for miles 4-6 of any run of at least 6 miles (since that's where the sizable hill is on the course). I need to make sure that this doesn't slam me like it did earlier this year.
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